Ed Hamilton

Thanks for the links, as you might expect Cadenheads bottles some really great rums but the quality varies. Their 30 year old cask strength (146 proof) which is no longer available was one of the best I've ever tasted.

Before you spend a bundle on a bottle of expensive rum you owe it to yourself to try some of the rums that are bottled by the distiller for under $35. Barbancourt 8 year old five star. Pampero Anniversario Ron Zacapa or look at some of the other threads on this forum. But if you are new to rum the best suggestion is to look for rums distilled and bottled by the distiller but having said that Montecristo is very good and it is a private label. I finally opened a bottle of Captain Morgan Private Stock last week and couldn't get past the second sip. Oh well.

There were a number of flagons being sold in the US about ten years ago. The ones I've seen from the Royal Navy were about two gallons and the contents could be seen through the colored glass inside the wicker covering. The rum wasn't ten years old but what would you expect the Royal Navy to give their sailors? There is a lot of interest in these flagons and if they are full and sealed the rum will be very much like Great Spirits offerings. They have got the blend closer than anyone else that I've found to date.

I'm working on a pdf file of the article that I can post on my site but everything takes time in the islands. Heading to Nevis tomorrow. The research continues.

Good point Pierre, but there are some very good, well priced rums from blenders such as Goslings who've never distilled a drop of rum. As for the mystery distillery in Cuba, Michener went there in the late eighties and the distillery was probably a blender who bottles local rum along with some local magic. It is highly unlikely that a small entrepeneur distillery would survive but people are blending their own rum everywhere in the islands. Michener might have found a local blender but he is way off the mark on a couple of other points. Dark rum is not made from burnt molasses, all rum is clear when it leaves the still. And no selfrespecting Trini would ever drink Jamaican rum, especially during Carnival. Like most islanders they drink the local rum and Jamaican and Trinidad are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

The Montecristo Label is registered in the states to Montecristo Rum, they are a Las Vegas company that is buying their blended rum from the Botran distillery but don't own any of that distillery in Guatemala. I'm told that it's a blend of rums at least 12 years old. I like it for the slight coffee and berry taste. Montecristo is marketing it as a mixing rum but at $30 a bottle I prefer to drink it straight.

Hook's is 40% alcohol by volume, which is higher than others. Flavored rums do make a nice addition to tropical tourist drinks.

A few days ago I ran across a new one from Happy Hour Imports, Hook's Coconut Rum. Has anyone tried this flavored rum? I have it on good authority that this rum was distilled in Trinidad where it was blended with coconut flavoring. But I'm interested if anyone has tried this one and do you normally drink flavored rums? Flavored rums comprise the fasting growing segment of the rum market.

I can't tell you where the distillery is but Varadero makes some good rums as you probably already know. Good luck with the research.

I drink Sea Wynde neat with a glass of ice water on the side but I have to admit that I have a bottle and I'm not drinking much of it. Ginger Ale and lime are great for what I call general market rums. Although I like to use Brugal or Barcelo white rum with ginger ale and lime. These white rums are aged and have a nice citrus flavor of their own. Cruzan light and dark are also good with ginger ale and lime. If you drink rum and coke, I don't, try whatever rum you're used to drinking with ginger ale and lime. Some ginger ales are too sweet so sometimes I add a lot of lime. With Jamaican ginger beer syrup, I'd dilute it as per the directions on the bottle and add some Gosling's Black Seal rum. For more information take a look at the Gosling's Black Sealthread. Gosling's is quite different compared to, say, Myers's rum.

Interesting dallardice, I first discovered the regulation in Trinidad where Puncheon rum is popular and is bottled at over 75% alcohol by volume. I didn't see any signs in Bermuda about the overproof rum being illegal to carry on board an airline, and I was flying to the US. I don't think this is another US regulation for your protection. It is widely recognized that this stuff is highly flammable and since it burns with very little visible flame it is very dangerous around open flames. I've been burned a couple of times when I tried to burn some rum, so I could look at the residue, and didn't realize that the small sample was already burning and tried to relight it. There is another Goslings rum that is coming in the future that will be a premium blend of aged rums in a special bottle and box. I haven't tasted it yet, but have been assured that it won't be just another expensive presentation for a mediocre rum. Don't know about the Outerbridge connection. The Gosling family have owned the brand since 1860 and were the leading wine merchant in Bermuda before that. Does Outerbridge distill some of the rum in the blend in one of the other islands? And thanks zilla369 for starting the thread. On this forum everyone's first post is about alcohol. In fact I hardly knew there were other forums on egullet for months after this forum began to be hosted here. Since that time I've met several of the other suspects, ah contributors, in other forums and been notified of several events that I would have otherwise missed entirely.

Not sure what to make of this, mick, but when I met Malcolm Gosling in Bermuda a couple of weeks ago he never mentioned Gold Seal, but he did say that the only rums they were actively marketing were Black Seal in the 80, 140 and 151 proof blends. From what I've seen Gold Seal was a lighter color blend of Goslings Rum that I expect to be phased out. There was also a white Gosling's which seems to have vanished, or maybe the market for it just evaporated. If I saw a bottle of either of these I'd probably add it to the collection of bottles on my not to be opened shelf. 140 proof may seem like an unusual proof but expect to see more spirits bottled at this proof since it is illegal to carry anything over 70% alcohol by volume on an airplane, and a lot of rum is sold in airports especially in the Caribbean. So the old 151 proof rums are getting harder to sell to tourists.

I'd recommend any of these rums to start and I should add that all of these rums are priced according to quality. Some are better values than others but all are bottled by the distilleries. In other words none of these rums are over priced martketing ploys in fancy bottles with half of the price of the bottle going to an inflated advertising budget. If you enjoy fine cognacs then you probably won't be satisfied with the cheapest of these rums but you have to admit that you don't get a very good bottle of other spirits for less than $15, at least not outside the Caribbean. But this is not the definitive list by any means. There are a lot of other good rums, especially if you are mixing it with ginger ale, juice or just tonic, ice and lime.

Last night I was asked by someone who isn't familiar with the pleasures of rum what he should try. I had to admit that I couldn't give a lot of suggestions because I didn't know what was available. I did tell my new friend that I'd take a look around and let him know. We are fortunate to be in Chicago where there are a lot of rums to choose from, but even if you can't get all of these rums I hope you will be able to find at least a few of them. Read the label, look for rums bottled by the distillery. There are a lot of what I call 'private label' rums out there and some of them are damn good but as a rule I look for what is bottled at the distillery. Quite honestly there isn't much good rum distilled and bottled in the US so most of the good rums are imported, at least from the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. First, here are a few suggestions for someone who drinks and appreciates good whisky's, calvados, etc. There are a few really good white rums but those in the following list should be mixed with a little water or a glass of water on the side. If you only drink rum and Coke, try again and you might find that there are a lot of rums that don't benefit by the addition of Coke. Barcelo Gran Anejo Barcelo Emperador premium Barrillito ** or *** Barbancourt *** or ***** I don't recommend the 15 year old and at twice the price of the five star it is way over rated. Mount Gay Extra Old Barbados Rum Cruzan Estate Diamond, the Cruzan Single Barrel is good but a little dry for my taste although there is word that they are working on a new single barrel that's a little heavier. Bacardi Anejo Sams has the Anejo from Mexico, the bottle and label are different from what is usually available in the US. Bacardi has seven distilleries around the world. Flor de Cana 5 or 7 year old from Nicaragua Pampero Anniversario, down to $26.99 plus tax in Chicago I'd recommend having a bottle of this rum around. Botran Anejo There are others but this is a good start. Most of these are premium rums but if you're looking for a good whisky, for example, you don't start with the cheapest bottle of whisky you can find. But even at $30 for the most expensive of these rums, they are still one of the best spirits values on the market today.

Gosling's is a blend of rums and has a much fuller flavor than some of the other heavily colored rums. There are presently three strengths, 80 proof, 140 proof and 151 proof. But be aware that you can't carry the high proof on airplanes so if you see if while you are traveling you will have to drink it or leave it behind. And according to Malcolm Gosling, president, there will be a new special Gosling's rum coming in the future so stay tuned.

Good point, even if you don't enjoy some of rums in cocktails many make great additions to cakes, brownies, cookies and other goodies. I add a teaspoon of rum to my pancake syrup, heat it up so it mixes well.

Having tried this new tequila flavored rum, twice, I can honestly say that I don't like it and will even go as far as to stick my neck out and predict that it doesn't last two years which is about as long as Bacardi will continue to spend money on a new product that isn't selling. In it's defense I have to say that I have encountered a couple of people who tell me that they don't find it offensive but neither says that they will seek it out and buy a bottle but will have an occasional drink of the stuff in a bar.

Macorix is another label made by the Brugal company who is most famous for their Brugal line of rums. Macorix is actually the name of the town where the distillery is located in the southeastern area of the Dominican Republic. There are a couple of other Macorix labels, I wasn't impressed with the 12 year old but do like the 8 year old. The other rums from Macorix aren't nearly as good but make good cheap mixers depending on where you buy them.

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about some of these rums. As far as I know they are made from fresh sugar cane juice like the rums in the French Caribbean and not from molasses as is Bundaberg. Do you recall if the labels claimed that these rums were 'rhum agricole'?

Looks like more press for the Bacardi tour. They have done a lot to help people understand rum but they still don't let you actually see much of the distillery, etc. But they are very generous in handing out samples of all of their products many of which are hard to find. Take the time to taste some Bacardi products that you haven't tasted before like Anejo or 1873, but you might want to take a pass on some of the new flavored products with such things as Tequila.

Captain Morgan Spiced Rum was designed by the Seagram company to be mixed with Coke. I prefer an aged blend of rum and spices without as much sugar, but then what do I know?

Sea Wynde was designed to be close to the blend that was served to the Royal Navy Sailors from 1731 until 1971 when the last tot was served aboard the HMS Endymion. This is a heavy blend of rums from pot stills and continuous stills. I enjoy it with some ice and sip it after a meal, for me it's a little heavy for the first cocktail of the day. The taste is full of hearty tobacco, smoky oak and roasted nut tones. Heavily colored with caramel I'd recommend trying this one before you pay what I consider to be an expensive bottle of rum.

I was more than a little surprised that Sail got the details right on this one. I hope to do a reprint on my site in the future. There will be another article in Cruising World in a few months. Cheers, the research continues.

Sorry that I'm a little late getting to this topic which is very dear to my palate, I've been sailing and offline for a few weeks. I can tell you that only a few rum distilleries will admit to adding flavoring to their rum. This is generally done during the blending process after the rum has aged in oak barrels. Sherry is one of the most common additives but natural fruit flavors are also added, among these raisin and coconut seem to be the most common but nut flavors are also added. In Venezuela raisins are commonly added to the rum during the last of the aging process to infuse flavor in the final blend. Most rum distilleries that distill from molasses produce a nearly neutral spirit then dilute it before aging. Once aged flavors are added and then the blend is allowed to marry for a few days to a few weeks before bottling. On the other hand in the French Caribbean where the rum is distilled to only about 72% alcohol by volume there are no added flavorings added to the rum, though caramel is commonly added to make the color more attractive. Sherry and fruit flavorings take some of the harsh alcohol bite out of rum that has been highly distilled. Since very little rum is actually distilled in the US there is little control of the actual process though the BATF can and does periodically check the purity of distilled spirits to make sure there are no poisonous components in the bottled product.

I have to agree that HC 7 is a completely different rum compared to Ron Zacapa Centenario but I have both on board and enjoy both of them at different times but like Jason that the Havana Club Anejo Reserva is a much better rum and is more in the class of the Zacapa Centenario, though the coffee and caramel flavor of that rum can be distracting. As for cigars I just ran into the Aurora from the Dominican Republic and though I don't smoke a lot of cigars I thoroughly enjoyed this one with Brugal Extra Viejo rum.